Fools
by NoisePollution
Summary: Max and Fang are in two different bands and are coaxed into going on tour together. What happens when you spend six months on the road (and on a plane) with someone you've always despised? Max and Fang are about to find out, and so are their bandmates.
1. Hell No

**A/N All songs used in this story are NOT written by me unless stated otherwise and will be credited at the end of each chapter. This is a new story I'm working with so if you like it and want me to continue then review and let me know ! I'm not too sure about it yet so tell me what you think, enjoy :)**

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Max POV

"NO! No no NO! No freaking way in the deepest pits of all hell" I yelled.

There was _no way_ I would ever tour with those arrogant bastards as long as I lived.

"Okay drama queen unfortunately it's not up to you" my manager looked at me with raised eye brows.

I was having a perfectly pleasant day up until now, we were recording the finishing touches on our new album, looking forward to tour in a few months, all was well up until one minute ago.

But nooo, Mr. Manager had to ruin it by storming in here and giving me the worst news of my life.

"Max it won't be that bad, besides, Iggy is kinda cute" Ella giggled as she lifted her guitar over her head and placed it on its stand.

"Won't be that _bad?"_ I yelled, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!", it was a good thing we were in the studio of the entire rest of the building would be listening to me have it out with my manager and my respective band mates right now.

Let me explain, none of this probably makes any sense out of context so heres some background.

My name is Maximum Ride, Max for short, and I'm in a band with my best friends Nudge and Ella (Ella's my sister).

We're called Sinking Ships and personally, I think we're freaking fantastic.

Over the past couple years our band has blown up, we've been headlining shows for a while and we were about to finish the production of our new album called _Revolution._

We started touring right out of high school, we worked our assess off to be where we are now so you can imagine how excited I am to be heading off on our world tour in a couple months to promote our new album.

But I've just been told that we will actually be co - headlining with our _rival_ band, Hollow Heroes.

Let me just tell you that the guys in that band, despite making some pretty good music I'll admit, are the assholiest.. assholes.

Their lead singer Fang (what kind of name is that anyways? I usually called him tooth whenever I had the displeasure of being cursed with his presence just to piss him off) is probably one of the most arrogant garbage bags I've ever met.

Hopefully that sums up my over the top reaction to being told I'd have to spend half a year on the road sharing the stage with a bunch of asshats.

"This is supposed to be for us" I complained as I dropped my body onto the black leather couch at the back of the room, "To promote _our_ new album, remember guys? Are we really going to share our spotlight with a bunch of-"

My manager cut me off before I could spew out another creative insult, "Max, cut me some slack here and at least let me explain, okay?" I immediately felt bad and shut my mouth, Nathan had done a lot for this band over the years, I should at least be giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"You guys all agreed that you wanted tickets and merch to be as cheap as possible right?"

We all nodded, "Of course" Nudge spoke up.

"Yeah" Ella agreed, "I remember spending crazy money on concert tickets when I was younger" she added.

"We don't want our fans to have to go broke to see us" I concluded, "That's not right"

"Okay well, your so called rival band feels the same way and when we combine tours with them we're able to make merch significantly cheaper _and_ book bigger venues since we'll have two groups of fans coming out"

I sighed, "I hate this, I hope you all know that I hate this and I hate them and I hate that emo pretty boy" I ground out, referring to Fang.

"We know Max" Nudge and Ella said simultaneously.

"Fine" I agreed, "I guess I'm in", Ella and Nudge practically had confetti blow out of their ears they were so excited.

"But I'm not going to be happy out it" I grumbled and sank lower into my chair.

"Well I'm glad you two are excited" our Manager said clapping his hands and gesturing at Nudge and Ella who were still screaming and jumping around.

"You on the other hand" he looked at me, "May not be so excited about this..." He trailed off as he got up and walked into the sound room and towards the door.

"Oh no, come on. Nathan! You're going to hell!" I yelled as he laughed and yanked open the door.

In walked in four arrogant pieces of trash fronted by one still stuck in his emo phase.

They made their way into the record room and a smirk immediately made its way onto Fang's face, "Maxie" he said condescendingly, "Good to see you again".

"Tooth" I mocked him, "not to so good to see you again" I gave him a fake smile.

"Settle down you two, you're going to be on the road together for six months, do yourselves and your bandmates a favour and try to get along" Nathan spoke to us from his spot in the doorway.

"Okay so it has been decided that you guys are going to need to collaborate on at least one song from each band at every show"

Oh look, there goes another huge groan, escaping from my mouth.

"It's good for publicity" Nathan looked pointedly at me for the millionth time, "and I we think your guys are going to sound fantastic together".

"So if there's no further protest" Nathan raised an eyebrow, directing his statement at me and Fang, "Ships, would you guys hope on your instruments and go through You & I? These guys haven't heard it and I think it would be perfect you have Fangs voice in on this one" he finished.

"But" I stammered,

"But what?" Nathan sighed as he ran a hand over his face.

"It's... personal" I finished.

"Millions of people are going to hear it when the albums released, what's the problem?" Fang smirked.

The problem was that I've always been able to completely and entirely let go in the studio, connect with the emotions that had initially prompted me to write a song and Fang kind of... ruined the vibe.

"Nothing" I ground out, glaring and Mr. Brick Wall.

"Play nice you two" one of Fang's other bandmates, Dylan joked from his seat.

Dylan had almost platinum blonde hair and sky blue eyes, I'll admit he's not bad looking but he's still in a band with McDouchebag so clearly his judgement is flawed.

"Can we get this show on the road?" I asked, gesturing at Nathan and our producer who were now both sitting behind the glass.

Nathan asked out producer something and then gave us all a thumbs up so we quickly slipped our headphones on, the guys had been given some too, yippee.

I cleared my throat, resting my hands at my sides and closing my eyes before opening my mouth and forgetting that there were four unfamiliar bodies in the room.

 _You and I... you and I._

I sang softly and the synth began to pick up in the background.

 _I know it's warmer where you are_

 _And it's safer by your side_

 _But right now I can't be what you want_

 _Just give it time_

I finally opened my eyes, I don'y know why I was so nervous, it wasn't like I hadn't performed in front of strangers before.

I wasn't going to let Fang intimidate me, or anyone else, so I just continued singing, pretending that I was in front of a regular audience like any other day.

 _And if you and I can make it through the night_

 _And if you and I can keep our love alive,_

 _We'll fight_

I took a deep breath in before going into the chorus, making sure my voice was steady and strong.

 _We can meet in the middle_

 _Bodies and souls collide_

 _Dance in the moonlight_

 _When all the stars align_

 _Ohh you and I_

 _Ohh you and I_

I looked Fang dead in the eyes and for once in his life his face had been wiped clean of his usual 'look-at-me-I'm-so-great' smirk, I looked away as I went into the next verse, wouldn't want him to think I was paying too much attention to his reaction.

 _And it's cold when we're apart_

 _And I hate to feel this die_

 _But you can't give me what I want_

 _Just give it time_

 _And if you and I can make it through the night_

I took a deep breath in.

 _And if you and I can keep our love alive_

 _We'll fight_

I smiled wide as I went back into the chorus, I loved how powerful this song has turned out, singing it was liberating.

 _We can meet in the middle_

 _Bodies and souls collide_

 _Dance in the moonlight_

 _When all the stars align_

 _Ohh you and I_

 _Ohh you and I_

I looked up and saw Iggy whispering something in Fangs ear but Fang didn't react, it was weird, he wouldn't take his eyes off me.

 _But for now we stay so far_

 _'Til our lonely limbs collide_

 _I can't keep you in these arms_

 _So I'll keep you in my mind_

My voice became soft as I launched into the bridge, preparing to belt out the next section with everything I had, as I had intended for it to be sung.

 _Can we meet in the middle_

I sang with strength, drawing out this line as long as I could before finishing the song and closing my eyes once again.

 _Bodies and souls collide_

 _Dance in the moonlight_

 _When all the stars align_

 _Ohh you and I_

 _Ohh you and I._

My voice faded out as we finished the song, which I feel incredibly good about by the way.

The guys immediately began clapping, an unexpected reaction but appreciated nonetheless.

Fang however was still staring at me, eyes open and mouth slightly ajar.

"I've never heard you sing live before" he said attempting to regain his composure.

"Is that why you're trying to catch flies?" I asked, making fun of his facial expression.

He immediately closed his mouth, "Whatever" he grumbled.

"That was great guys! Are we all in agreement that this is the song you'll be working on together?" Nathan's voice projected itself through the speakers and into the room.

We all gave various positive responses and Nathan threw both his thumbs up, waving wildly at all of us from his seat behind the glass.

"May we grace you with our musical talent now?" Fang asked, looking directly at me.

"Yes, you guys can go ahead and run through the song you'd like to collaborate on" Nathan chimed in yet again, always keeping the peace.

The guys laughed before picking up _our_ instruments might I add and adjusting them for themselves, I guess we're going to have to fix that later.

I don't think I've even mentioned what we play, have I? Oh well, let me go through it anyways.

I sing and handle the synth and piano, Ella handles the guitar and Nudge moves between drums and bass when it's needed.

I know Fang is the lead singer, it looks like Iggy plays drums, Dylan is on guitar and the other one that I've never paid much attention to (I think his name is Sam?) is on bass.

"We're going with a softer one for you guys" Fang looked at me an winked, arrogant asshole, need I say it again?

"This ones called 'Death Deserves a Name'" Iggy said.

Fang, as most vocalists do, took a moment to clear his throat before beginning their song.

 _Witnessing feeling of your discontent_

 _While I try to mull it over all inside my head_

 _I can't rebuild_

Fang paused and breathed in.

this _mess I made_

Distance _between us has been so confined_

 _Just the sound of your voice puts fire to my spine_

 _I walked away_

Another pause.

 _I might never fall back asleep..._

Suddenly everything picked up as they launched into the chorus.

 _Losing myself thinking of that place_

 _The words you said when you saw my face_

 _It's all been done_

 _Finding it hard to forget her name_

 _If I'm the stray, who's the one to blame?_

 _It's all been done_

I've already admitted that I don't think their music is that bad but I had also never heard them perform live before.

I can't deny that Fang, as much as I hate his guts, has a gorgeous voice

 _Listing the problems that I should of known_

 _Thought you said you would be fine_

 _If you were on your own_

 _I won't be there to catch your fall_

 _Can I please undo what I've done_

Okay, another confession, I love this song. It's beautiful and I'm kind of excited to be apart of it.

I'm not so excited that that means working within the same vicinity as Tooth boy in a professional manner.

 _Losing myself thinking of that place_

 _The words you said when you saw my face_

 _It's all been done_

 _Finding it hard to forget her name_

 _If I'm the stray, who's the one to blame?_

 _It's all been done_

He then repeated the same line over and over again, getting more and more powerful with each run before completely losing it.

 _A death deserves a name, I've got all my life to bare this pain_

Over and over, he was almost screaming but it sounded amazing, his bandmates echoed words from that lyric over and over again until they all went silent for a moment before finishing the song.

 _Losing myself thinking of that place._

 _The words you said when you saw my face_

 _It's all been done_

We all waited until it was completely silent before taking off our headphones.

Nudge and Ella clapped rapidly, I was clapping because its sort of obligatory and because I'm not going to admit that I was in love with he song they just played.

"Not half bad Walker" I used Fang's last name and winked at him, mocking his actions from earlier.

"Was that good enough for your highness?" Fang asked me, "Or do you need us to put on another display of our awesomeness?" he questioned me.

"That was fine" I glared at him, I can't guarantee I'll be able to get through this without punching him in the face at least once a month.

"Would you two just go make out already?" Nudge yelled at us.

"Excuse me?!" Fang and I both exclaimed in unison.

"Never in a millions years" I started.

"Never"

"Ever"

"EVER" Fang and I added onto one another's disbelief.

"At least you two can agree on one thing, but it'll happen, you clearly have the hots for each other" Nudge shrugged as Ella stood beside her and laughed.

"If that ever happens I give everyone in this room permission so kill me" I raised my voice so that everyone could hear.

"Hey!" Fang yelled defensively, "I'm not that bad you know, a lot of girls think I'm pretty good looking"

"It's too bad your personality sucks" I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of my water.

"So you agree? I'm good looking"

I hate this douchecanoe.

* * *

 **A/N So I made this chapter relatively short just so I could give you guys an introduction to the storyline and to see if you like it. Let me** **know your opinions so I know wether or not to continue, thanks!**

 **Songs:**

 **You & I by PVRIS**

 **Death Deserves a Name by Can't Swim**


	2. I Need a Drink

Fang POV

"Dude you're so into her"

"Shut up Iggy" I dismissed his claims that I was in love with Max quickly, I didn't need that rumour running around.

"Just admit it"

"There's nothing to admit" I ground out as I plopped down on the couch next to Iggy.

"I think she's kinda cute" Sam's shy voice blurted out from his spot in the lounger across the room.

"Good" I scoffed, "Go for it, really, she's all yours"

Maximum Ride is hands down one of the most obnoxious and difficult people that I've ever met, trying to figure her out was like solving a puzzle made entirely out of edge pieces.

There was no denying her talent though, her crappy personality had no negative effects on the way she sang.

"Sammmm" Iggy whined, "that's Fang's lady dude, you're crossing a line"

"Uh actually" I chimed in, "there's no 'line' to be crossed," how many times did I have to say it?

"Sure Fangles" Iggy winked at me before taking a sip of his beer.

Dylan remained silent despite a look of amusement on his face.

"No comment Dylan?' I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope" he popped the 'p' and grabbed the remote, proceeding to flip through the channels on the TV.

Since we weren't on tour and were just finishing our new album we were all at home in L.A. before tour and everyone was currently at my house unwinding after spending hours in the studio with Max the monster and her slightly more bearable band mates.

Suddenly I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I opened it so see the name 'Mom' glowing on my screen.

"Be back in a sec" I nodded at the guys and then stepped outside onto the back porch, overlooking the crystal clear water that filled my swimming pool.

It was gorgeous outside today, then again it usually is in L.A.

It wasn't sweltering hot like it had been lately either, there was a nice warm breeze and the trees that surrounded my yard created a lot of shade.

"Hey sweetie"

I smiled, I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked to my mom, "Hey mum" I replied.

"Do you remember what tomorrow is?" she asked me, a slight edge in her voice, she wasn't exactly happy that I wasn't around to visit much anymore.

"Of course, how could I forget my own siblings birthday?"

My mom laughed at the ridiculous notion, I've always been there for them, I flew home for a day in the middle of tour two years ago just to see them perform in a badly directed version of 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Needless to say that kindergarteners aren't exactly Broadway material.

I had two younger siblings, their names are Gazzy and Angel and they're twins.

"Are you bringing everyone else with you?" my mom asked.

"Of course, they wouldn't miss it either. Plus I think Gazzy would kill me if I forgot to bring Iggy" I smiled again, sometimes I felt like Gazzy liked Iggy more than he liked me, not that I minded.

Iggy was always up to blow something up, passing on his pyromaniac tendencies on to my seven year old brother.

"So how are you doing? How is everyone? You haven't called in a while..." she worries a lot.

"Everyone is happy and healthy Mom" I rolled my eyes, she'd taken it upon herself to mom the entire band on top of me, which was nice because she always told us what we needed to hear but didn't want to.

"And you?" she continued.

"I'm healthy... happy, not so much at the moment"

"What's going on? Have you been taking your meds?" she asked me, a worried tone making it's way into her voice.

"Maybe I should come up there, stay with you for a while..." she began to mumble to herself.

"No Mom it's not that I promise I'm fine" there was silence on the other end of the line as she waited for me to continue.

"I just found out today that we're basically sharing our world tour with the Sinking Ships"

"Is that the band with that pretty girl you don't get along with?" she asked, I could hear her attempting to hold back laughter on the other end of the line while I groaned.

"Yes" I ground out.

"Oh honey, you get to spend six months touring with a pretty girl, singing music you created in front of thousands, and sometimes millions of people, poor you" she feigned a sad voice.

"You've never met her, she's terrible" I said, stepping away from the railing I'd been leaning on and running a hand through my hair.

"I'm sure it'll all work out, just give her a chance. You're not exactly a bowl of fruit loops yourself either"

"I'm perfectly nice!" I argued.

"Of course I know that, but at first you do come off a little... arrogant" she laughed, "I'm just telling you what you need to hear"

I let out a big sigh, "I know, thanks"

"Anytime sweetie, I gotta go get dinner ready but call me tomorrow when you're almost here okay? I love you"

"Love you too Mum" I smiled.

"Oh and Nick?" I rolled my eyes, I hate it when she uses my real name.

"Yeah Mum?"

"Bring this girl to the party tomorrow, I'd like to meet her"

Before I had the chance to object she'd hung up, which was her way of telling me to just listen and not argue.

I closed the sliding glass doors and made my way back towards the living room, where I could hear the TV blaring.

"Fang! Your girlfriend is on TV!" Iggy shouted at me and patted the spot on the couch next to him with a huge grin on his face.

I grudgingly sat down crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at Iggy before focusing my attention of the TV screen.

 _"And now! The band you've all been waiting to hear from on their new album, I'd like to welcome... Sinking Ships!"_

The talkshow host yelled as the camera panned over to the red velvet curtains on the stage as three women emerged from behind the curtain.

Ella wore black converse and a yellow dress with a big jean jacket thrown over the top.

Nudge had on a gold shimmery top and white jeans that were covered in what looked like patches, while wearing black heels.

Last came Max, in contrast to her band mates she wore black jeans with holes in the knees, a black top that showed her stomach and had some sort of criss - crossy straps that hung from the bottom of the top and crossed her stomach... okay cut me some slack alright? I'm a dude, I don't know what half this stuff is called.

She wore black combat boots with yellow laces and her jeans had two sets of chains hung from the sides that formed identical patterns. Necklaces with various charms hung around her neck, creating a layered effect, and her nails were painted black.

Finally, she had shaved the hair off the side of her head, the rest of her hair had been pulled back and over the opposite shoulder, and I couldn't deny that it looked good on her.

The host stood up and shook their hands, greeting them all individually and welcoming to the show before they took their respective seats in the black chairs that sat beside the host's big desk.

 _"It's such a pleasure to have you guys on my show again"_

 _"We're happy to be here"_ Ella smiled while Nudge and Max nodded in agreement.

 _"So your new album is going to be released in two weeks, how does that feel?"_

Max was the first one to speak up, _"It feels incredible, I'm always anxious whenever we release something new because there's always that 'will they like it, will they hate it?' question bouncing around in my brain"_

 _"For sure"_ Ella chimed in, _"To be honest though Max is always way more nervous than the rest of us"_

 _"No one needed to know that Ells!"_ Max playfully hit Ella on the arm as the audience burst out in fits of laughter.

 _"I'm ready to get back on tour"_ Nudge said, _"We've been working on this album for over a year and I just want to get out there and share it with our fans"_

I was amazed at how Max had gone from evil monster to punk beauty queen all in the span of a couple hours, not that I think she's beautiful or anything I just... forget it.

 _"Can you tell us anything about this new album?"_ the host asked as he smiled, exposing his blinding white teeth.

 _"This album is definitely an_ _emotional one"_ Ella said, looking directly at Max.

 _"It was inspired by some of the tough shit, wait, can I swear on this show?"_ Max laughed and held a hand up to her mouth as the host laughed.

 _"Technically no"_ the audience laughed again, _"but go on"_

 _"Sorry"_ Max smiled nervously and ran her fingers through her hair.

 _"Anyways. We've all gone through something rough at one point or another. So this album is about those things, about growing up and making it through something tough."_ Max explained.

 _"It's about rising up and fighting your demons"_ she continued.

 _"Which is why we thought 'Revolution' was a perfect name for the album itself. You can only go so far in life before you've gotta punch your fears in the face and say 'screw you!'"_ Nudge said as she threw a fist in the air.

Max and Ella nodded, smiling at laughing at Nudge's antics.

 _"That sounds fantastic. I can't wait to hear it"_

 _"And we can't wait for you to hear it"_ Ella smiled.

 _"Now, on a more serious note. The band has been getting some heat in the media lately, can you explain what that's all about? I'm sure our audience would love to hear your side of things"_

The band all rolled their eyes and smirked simultaneously.

Ella crossed her legs and unfolded her hands, _"It's ridiculous, people will pick and every little thing, take our words out of context and then turn it into something entirely made up"_

 _"What happened was somehow, some rumour went around the Max writes all the songs and the music and we just sit here looking pretty"_ Elle continued.

 _"Which is entirely untrue"_ Max piped up, looking angry.

 _"One of us has to come up with the song right? And I'm_ _usually the on to start writing down lyrics, but none of those lyrics would come to life if it weren't for Nudge and Ella"_ Max stated as the host nodded.

 _"We're going to be criticized no matter what we do"_ Max said, _"But I'm not going to sit idly by while my bandmates are accused of not working as hard as I do, we all put everything we have into our music"_

 _"There you have it folks!"_ the host looked into the camera and opened his arms, smiling as everyone clapped.

 _"Sinking Ships will return next week with special guests by their side! Make sure to tune in folks, and have a good night!"_

The host and the girls waved at the camera, smiling at shaking hands.

I wonder what special guest they... oh shit.

I looked up at my band mates as Dylan shut off the TV, preparing to face my wrath.

"Guys" I said as calmly as I could, "There's no chance that those 'special guests' are us, is there?"

"Don't get all mad and broody" Iggy said, holding his hands up defensively.

"We know how much you hate interviews but we have to for the publicity and besides, we have to announce our co - tour sometime" Sam said.

"Plus" Dylan interjected, "Both managers think it would be better if we all did it together, creates more hype or something"

"And the media knows you and Max don't exactly get along so..." Iggy trailed off.

I groaned and threw my head back, this was going to be the most interesting interview I've ever participated in, especially since Max will probably be fighting the urge to rip off my head the whole time.

"This is going to suck" I said, getting up and heading towards the fridge, I needed alcohol.

* * *

Max POV

"Special Guests? SPECIAL GUESTS!?" I yelled the second I got back stage and away from the cameras, my manager cringing at the anger he must have inevitably been prepared for.

"It's just for publicity Max, its not like you have to crawl into Fang's lap" Ella rolled her eyes at me jokingly.

"Sure, except the press _knows_ Fang and I don't get along and you just know they're going to ask about it next week. What am I supposed to say? 'Oh, I've come to my senses, Tooth is a great guy'" I said in a high pitched voice as I twirled my hair around one finger.

"Something like that yes" my manager spoke up.

"You're kidding" I deadpanned.

"You don't have to act like you worship him Max" Nudge said.

"Yeah" Ella added, "Just be moderately polite, try to avoid the usual hostility"

I started subconsciously grinding my teeth, glaring daggers at my manager and my bandmates.

I needed a drink.

Just as I was about to suggest to Ella and Nudge that we head back to my place for a night of much needed relaxation my phone rang.

"Hey" I answered, anyone who had my personal cell number knew it was me, there was no need to be formal or polite.

"Maxie? That you?" Fang's cocky voice travelled into my ear.

"What do you want? How did you even get my number?" I groaned, I was exhausted and not in the mood to deal with Fang Walker.

Just as I asked the question I saw my manger wave nervously at me from across the room, of course he gave Fang my number, ass.

"That's no way to speak to a friend"

"I know, that's because you're not a friend"

"Well that hurts my feelings" Fang said, sniffling on the other end of the line.

"If you don't tell me why you called me right now I'm going to hang up and then track you down and kick your ass"

"Okay okay sheesh, someones grumpy, although I don't know why since your interview just now seemed to go pretty well"

"You make a habit of pining over me on TV?" I smirked, I could practically feel his annoyance through the phone.

"Don't flatter yourself, you're not really my type"

Just as Fang had finished his sentence I heard a male voice in the background yell 'YES SHE ISSSSS', I presumed it was Iggy.

"Anyways, its my sister and brothers birthday tomorrow, and they're having a party"

"Congratulations?" I asked, was he really just calling me to tell me his siblings were having a birthday party?

"That was me inviting you" Fang ground out.

"Oh, I'm not really into parties"

"They're turning eight" I could feel my cheeks heating up, but hey, how was I supposed to know?

I guess I'd been silent for too long because Fang spoke up again before I could respond.

"Look, my Mum heard we're touring together, and she wants to meet you, just do me this favour okay? She'll be on my ass about it until we leave if she doesn't meet you first"

"Why doesn't she want to meet Nudge and Ella?" I questioned, receiving no response from Fang.

"Because Nudge and Ella don't hate you" I answered my own question, "Say please" I smirked, this would be fun.

"Max" there was an edge in his voice.

"If you really want me to go, say please, beg"

"Maximum Ride, will you _please_ do me the honour of attending a birthday party for a couple of eight year olds tomorrow afternoon?" he grovelled.

"Sure" I shrugged my shoulders, "Text me the details" and with that I hung up, not having the energy to let the conversation go on any longer.

As I hung up my phone and shoved it in my back pocket I looked up to see Ella and Nudge staring at me.

"What?"

"You're going on a daaaateeeeeeee" the cooed as they jumped up and down in excitement.

"Its a birthday party for a couple of eight year olds" I said in a monotone voice.

"It doesn't matter, you spending any time with Fang is good because the more you hang out, the sooner you two'll realize you're in lovveee"

I can't wait until these two finally snap out of it and realize how wrong they are.

* * *

 **A/N Alright so, question: I'm in my last year of high school so I've got a lot going on right** **now which means I can either update pretty frequently (but the chapters will be pretty short) or I can update periodically with long chapters. Let me know which you guys would prefer, and as always, review !**


	3. It Only Took One Zipper

Max POV

"I can't believe I'm letting you guys dress me, it's not like I'm walking on the red carpet" I rolled my eyes as Nudge rummaged through my closet, occasionally scrunching her nose up whenever she pulled out a particularly Max-ish piece of clothing.

"Almost everything in here is black" Nudge whined, "and we know you're not headed to the red carpet"

"But you _are_ going to meet Fang's family" Ella said as she entered my room carrying a case with what presumably contained makeup.

"Yeah, because his mom wants to make sure I'm not a whore"

"Max!" Nudge exclaimed.

"What?" I shrugged, "Why else would she want to meet me? She just wants to make sure her kid isn't about to spend six months on the road with a total trash bag"

Ella rolled her eyes and she dropped the case she was holding onto my vanity table, which I might add, was basically sterile because I almost never used it.

"Or she just wants to meet you because she knows you and Fang have the hots for each other" Ella winked.

"We don'tttttt" I whined as I plopped down in the chair in front of my vanity, immediately blinded by the lights surrounding the mirror that Ella had turned on.

"Oh Max come on" Nudge laughed as she threw an outfit on my bed, "You guys may constantly insult each other but that boy looks at you like he wants to eat you"

"Nudge!" I whipped my head around and glared at her.

"What?" she questioned, "It's true"

"If that's true then I think you're going to need to let me go to the bathroom because I'm going to puke"

"Stop being so _dramatic"_ Nudge smirked as she and Ella started laying things out on the table in front of me.

The only things I could really name were eyeliner and mascara, everything else was foreign.

"Me? Dramatic? Nudge I think you've got us confused" I laughed as Ella handed me an elastic, I knew the drill, tie my hair back so that they could cover my face in goop.

"It's called foundation Max" Ella said as if she could read my mind.

"Like... in a house? Like the foundation of a house? I'm a human being" I tried to clarify.

"Just sit still and let us work our magic" Nudge and Ella both laughed as I leaned back in my chair, no use in trying to avoid this stuff now.

* * *

I was seriously struggling with this dress, why did Nudge have to pick a dress? Couldn't she have picked a nice pair of pants? The makeup was already too much.

"Are you dressed in there?" I hear Nudge call from the other side of my bathroom door, "I need to zip you up"

"Yeah yeah come in" I groaned as Nudge entered the room and zipped up the back of my dress.

Nudge then shoved various bracelets around my wrists, tossed me a necklace, and put some earrings on the bathroom counter.

"Come out when you're done so we can look at all our hard work" Nudge squealed.

"I'm not completely ugly you know" I said jokingly after Nudge as she left the bathroom, leaving me to toss on the rest of the jewellery she'd given me.

When I was done I took a moment to look at myself in the mirror.

I had to admit I didn't look completely horrendous, Nudge and Ella usually knew what they were doing.

My dress was sleeveless and black, it cinched in at my waist and then flowed down and ended just below my knees, it was thinner near the top where a small black band connected to the top of the dress wrapped around my neck.

Nudge had given me several silver necklaces to layer around my neck, all different lengths.

The longest one had a half moon, the next had a small pink crystal, and the shortest one contained small silver beads that were equally spaced out from one another.

Various black ribbon - like bracelets sat on my wrists along with some others that had some sort of pink or black charm, I was starting to sense a theme in colour scheme here.

My earrings were small black triangles that sparkled and complimented the shiny silver bar that stuck through the top of my ear quite nicely.

My nails were still perfectly manicured and painted black from the interview the night before, and my hair had been straightened and then braided neatly at the top while the rest of my hair rested on one shoulder.

As for my makeup, it looked much simpler than I'd assumed it would be considering it took Nudge and Ella a full half hour to do it.

My lips had been coated in a dark peach/pink colour and my eyeshadow gave me a smoky look (I think thats what it's called? I never do my own makeup give me a break).

Other than that my eyes had been lined in dark brown eyeliner and my skin looked crystal clear, like I said, not completely horrendous.

I took in a deep breath as I left the bathroom, preparing myself for the high pitched squealing I was about to face.

I was surprised to only hear the words 'dammnn' and 'we're good' followed by a high five between Ella and Nudge.

Just as Ella was handing my my shoes my phone rang.

"Hey" I answered as I pressed my cell to my ear with my shoulder and began slipping on my black, ankle length docs with pale pink laces (courtesy of Nudge and Ella I'm sure because last time I checked I had black laces in there)

"I'm here" and with those abrupt two words Fang hung up the phone, geez, someone must be grumpy.

My white socks were a little too long so I pushed them down and so they scrunched up to just above my ankles.

I shrugged, I didn't really have time to change my socks so I guess that would have to do.

"Have funnnnn" Ella and Nudge cooed as they waved at me from my front door.

I rolled my eyes as I made my way down the driveway towards Fang's black SUV, today was probably going to be a nightmare.

I opened the passenger side door and hopped in, "Hey Tooth" I greeted as I did up my seat belt.

"Maxie" Fang smirked as he backed out of my driveway and began driving down the road.

"Did you get all dolled up for me?" he looked at me and winked before turning his attention back towards the road.

I rolled my eyes, "You wish" I snorted, "I just have some very... involved bandmates"

Fang stayed silent although a small smile rested on his face as he continued to drive, jerk.

"So how long is this drive going to be?" I inquired as I rested my elbow on the ledge of the window beside me and looked at the cars passing by.

"Why?" Fang asked, "Afraid that if you're in an enclosed space with me for too long you won't be able to resist the urge to jump my bones?"

"Asshole" I responded.

"It's only two hours" he shrugged, glancing over at me to gage my reaction.

" _Two hours?!"_ you mentioned nothing about a two hour car ride yesterday.

He just shrugged again, I hate it when he does that.

Before I could come up with a creative enough insult he turned on the radio, and a song by, you guessed it, my band was the first thing that came on.

 _"And next up we've got a song by one of your favourite bands, Sinking Ships! This one's an oldie so all of you listening sing along if you know it"_

Fang laughed and looked over at me.

"What?" I snarled, "Something funny?"

"You heard her, sing along" he nodded at the radio.

"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow.

Fang let out a huge sigh, "Listen" he started, "I know neither of us is too happy about having to spend this tour together"

"Agreed" I laughed, looking over at Fang.

I suddenly noticed his dark tousled hair, he was wearing dark black jeans and a black shirt with white sleeves that went down to his elbows, some sort of design was on the front that I couldn't make out from this angle.

He looked like he'd just rolled out of bed but somehow it worked, I took note of the helix piercing on his right ear that I'd never noticed before.

"But" he continued, breaking me out of my thoughts, "We haven't exactly spent a lot of time singing together" he stopped the car as the light in front of us went from yellow to red.

"I need to get a feel for your voice, I've heard you sing one song" he looked right into my eyes, his voice was soft now, and for some reason I couldn't look away.

A deafening silence followed, we just started at each other for what felt like an eternity.

Then the car behind us was honking and Fang loudly cleared his throat before stepping on the gas and focusing his eyes back on the road.

Without another word in edgewise I began to sing, we hadn't performed this song live in a while.

 _I want you_

 _Yeah I want you_

 _And nothing comes close_

I paused, taking in a deep breath.

 _To the way that I need you_

 _I wish I can feel your skin_

 _And I want you_

 _From somewhere within_

Without hesitation I launched into the chorus.

 _It feels like there's oceans_

 _Between me and you once again_

 _We hide our emotions_

 _Under the surface and tryin' to pretend_

 _But it feels like there's oceans_

 _Between you and me_

 _I want you_

 _And I always will_

 _I wish I was worth_

Another long pause.

 _But I know what you deserve_

 _You know I'd rather drown_

 _Than to go on without you_

 _But you're pulling me down_

I'd always loved the chorus of this song, I wish we played this live more often.

 _It feels like there's oceans_

 _Between you and me once again_

 _We hide our emotions_

 _Under the surface and try to pretend_

 _But it feels like there's oceans_

 _Between you and me_

The ending was my favourite.

 _I want you_

 _I want you_

 _And always will_

 _It feels like there's oceans_

 _Between you and me_

I quickly glanced at Fang as I finished the song, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Not half bad Ride" he smirked as we took a left turn.

"Gee, thanks" I grumbled and looked back out the window, why did this have to be such a long drive? Why couldn't Fang's mom have moved in next door to him instead?

"Hey" he said, I looked back towards him.

"Kidding, you have a fantastic voice", before I could reply with my usual snarkiness he spoke up again "for someone so obnoxious" he smirked.

"Sure you're not talking about yourself there Fangy boy?"

"So you think I have a fantastic voice?" he asked.

"You're not _completely_ awful" I confessed.

"Although I'll admit working with you would be a lot easier if you weren't such a douche" Fang almost choked on air at my remark.

I laughed my ass off as Fang attempted to regain his normal breathing.

"Try not to kill us, dying in a car crash isn't exactly a badass way to go"

"You're right" Fang said.

I raised an eyebrow, "about what?"

"It would be easier to work together if _you_ weren't such a douche" he mocked me.

* * *

Fang POV

When we finally arrived at my mom's house Max had fallen asleep in her seat next to mine.

She looked peaceful, a few strands of hair had fallen over her face and her head was gently resting against the window.

"Max" I said in an attempt to wake her up.

Nothing.

"Max" I said a little louder this time, still nothing.

I sighed before getting out of the car and walking around to the passenger side door.

I carefully opened it while sliding my hand in, catching Max's head so that she wouldn't fall out of the car and onto her ass... although that would be hilarious.

"Max" I said, still holding her head in my hands, "Max!"

She jumped, startled, and immediately collided with the ceiling of my car.

"Shit, Fang" Max grumbled as she rubbed the top of her head.

"Quit laughing at me" she yawned as she climbed out of the car, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"I can't help it and maybe if you weren't such a heavy sleeper I wouldn't have had to yell in your ear"

"What else was I supposed to do? Make polite conversation for two whole hours?" she smirked before grabbing her cellphone out of the cupholder and shutting the passenger door.

I just rolled my eyes and gestured for her to follow me inside, I could already hear the parade of children screaming from the backyard.

Before I even had my hand on the doorknob the front door was whipped open to revel my mom's smiling face.

"Well look at you, you've gotten so old" she remarked sarcastically, like I said, I haven't been home in a while.

"Hey mum" I smiled as she stood up on her toes to hug me, I was always taller than her.

"And you must be Max" she smiled.

Max smiled back and stuck out her hand but was surprised when my mom engulfed her in a hug.

I laughed as Max glared at me over my mom's shoulder, she could be a little much sometimes I'll admit.

"It's very nice to meet you Max" my mom smiled as she pulled away and lead us inside.

"You didn't tell me I was going to be assaulted by your mother" Max whispered to me under her breath.

"It was just a hug, harmless" I winked before making my way into the kitchen where my mom was busy cleaning and sorting presents.

"How was the drive?" my mom questioned.

"Okay, traffic wasn't too bad, Max slept almost the entire way here" I shrugged, smiling at the expression on Max's face.

"Of course I slept, dealing with you is exhausting" Max snapped, brushing some hair out of her face.

My mom just laughed and gave me the 'I-like-this-girl-so-be-nice-to-her' look out of the corner of her eye.

"Where's the rest of the band?" my mom asked raising an eyebrow, she knew how upset Gazzy would be if Iggy didn't show up.

"Sam and Dylan had to deal with some stuff at the studio so they won't be coming, Iggy's on his way down right now because he slept in and I told him I wasn't waiting"

"Well all the kids are in the backyard, I'm sure they'll be excited to see you so why don't you head on out" my mom laughed.

Max followed me towards the sliding glass doors that led into the backyard, I immediately saw that the pool was filled with small children splashing and yelling, a few parents sat on the grass in law chairs.

"FANG!" I heard my sisters voice scream from somewhere in the yard before her small body crashed into mine, practically knocking me over.

Just as I was regaining my balance another small child, presumably Gazzy, crashed into me.

"You guys are wet" I grumbled as I peeled them off of me.

"We're swimming!" Angel smiled, she was missing one of her front teeth.

"I can see that" I smiled and ruffled Gazzy's wet hair as he swatted my hands away.

"Your friend is pretty" Angel smiled at Max who was now standing beside me, laughing at my wet clothes.

"Thank you" she smiled and shook Angel's small hand before fist bumping Gazzy.

"You're pretty too, and I'm Max by the way" she smiled at Angel.

Well at least my siblings liked her, or at least they hadn't figured out how obnoxious she is yet.

"Are you swimming?" Angel asked me just as Gazzy asked, "Where's Iggy?"

"Well gee, it's good to see you too Gazzy, Iggy'll be here soon. And no we're not swimming Angel, but I'd be happy to watch" I smiled as jazzy shrugged his shoulders and ran back towards the pool, screaming 'canon ball' as he jumped in.

"That's funny" Max said.

"What?"

"I assumed that you must come from a long - line of terrible people, turns out it's just you, you're the ugly duckling" Max stuck her tongue out at me while I glared at her.

"Keep it up and you will be going swimming" I mumbled as we made our way over to the chairs that were a safe distance away from the pools edge.

"I'm going to go get an adult drink" I mumbled as I left Max sitting in the lawn chair.

"Hey" she called after me.

"Yes?"

"Be a gentleman and grab me something"

"I thought I was an ugly duckling?"

"You are, but even they have manners"

Annddd she'd officially infuriating.

I know she's doing me a favour by being here but still, did my mom _have_ to make me invite her?

* * *

Max POV

Just as Fang slipped inside the house I heard a voice calling me from the edge of the swimming pool.

"Max?" Angels sweet voice called me.

"Yes?"

"Do you like Fang?"

"Honestly?" I asked, Angel nodded her head.

"He's kind of a butthead" I whispered loud enough so that she could hear me.

She started giggling uncontrollably just as Gazzy swam up beside her, "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Max called Fang a butthead"

Now both of them were laughing hysterically and I was thanking god that they had their arms securely hooked onto the patio otherwise they'd be forgetting to swim.

"Is there a reason you two are laughing so much?" I hear Fangs voice as he hands me a plastic cup with some sort of, presumably alcoholic, drink inside.

"Max called you a butthead!" Gazzy yelled.

"Did she?" Angel simply nodded her head in response.

"If I'm a butthead it's only because Max made me one" he smiled and sat down next to me, taking a sip of his drink.

"But that's okay because you like like her" Angel smiled before swimming away with a grin on her face.

"Why does everyone continuously try and convince us that we're in love?" I groaned and ran my hand through my hair, all I wanted to do was take out this stupid braid.

"Maybe because I'm so great that no one understands how you're _not_ in love with me"

I scoffed, "I see you're not letting the fame go to your head then"

"Not one bit"

"So Fangy boy" he glared at me, I knew he hated when I called him that.

"Why exactly did your mom ask you to bring me here tonight?"

Fang just groaned and rested his head of the back of his chair closing his eyes, "I have a feeling it's a mixture of curiosity and Iggy calling her and telling her that he thinks I'm in love with you"

"He's one to talk, since he couldn't stop undressing Ella with his eyes yesterday"

"She's your sister right?" Fang asked.

"Yeah, and I guess she could do worse than Iggy, like you for example"

"You're obnoxious" he replied.

"And you, Fang Walker, are an ass"

At the exact moment a small, screaming child bumped into my chair and knocked my drink directly into my lap.

"Fantastic" I mumbled, sitting up and attempting to dry my dress with my hands.

Fang, while attempting to hold back his laughter called his mom over.

"Any chance you've got something that'll fit Klutzilla over here?" Fang said, gesturing at my soaking wet dress.

Fang's mom gently slapped his arm before gesturing for me to follow her into the house.

As I stepped into the kitchen I took a moment to look around.

I hadn't really been paying attention when we'd first gotten here but pictures of Fang and his siblings were all over the place.

Report cards and drawings covered the fridge, one that definitely struck out was of Fang as a kid.

He looked around five or six in the photo, his hair was a little lighter than it is now but equally as messy.

He wore a light blue soccer jersey and a soccer ball was tucked under his arm, a tall, black haired man stood next to him with his hand on Fang's shoulder.

Funny, I didn't see Fang's dad here today.

"I think I've got a dress you can wear, follow me" Fang's mom snapped me out of my thoughts as I followed her to, presumably, her bedroom.

She began rummaging around in her closet before speaking up, not turning around to look at me.

"So, I hate to intrude but do you and Fang really not get along?"

I laughed, of course she'd ask that.

"Not... exactly" I said.

"Well, you seem like perfectly nice girl so I'm assuming my son's being a jackass, my deepest apologies Max"

The best part about that sentence was that she sounded absolutely, 100% sincere.

"No need to apologize Ms. Walker, I'm sure you tried everything you could"

"Give him some time, I'm sure he'll tone down the arrogance after you've been around him long enough"

"We are spending the next six plus months working together so hopefully you're right"

Fang's mom simply smiled as she turned around and handed me a light pink dress, sigh, at least it matched the colour scheme Ella and Nudge had going on for me.

"Fang's room is right across the hall, you can change in there" she smiled before heading back to the party.

I looked at the dress in my hands, it looked like it'd go to just above my knees, with long sleeves and a small bow tied in string at the top.

It was soft, made out of a light, chiffon fabric.

I shrugged and opened the door to Fang's room and immediately laughed.

The walls were painted black, and i don't mean 'navy-blue-that-looks-black-at-first-glance-black', I mean pitch black, Dracula's lair black, the most me kid black you've ever seen.

His walls were covered in band posters, and his bed was covered with a, you guessed it, black duvet.

A few acoustic guitars sat in their stands in the corner of the room next to a full length mirror.

I shut the door behind me, still laughing at how basic Fang's room looked.

I then realized that there was no way I was getting this dress off of me until the back was unzipped, which lead to another realization, someone had to unzip this death trap for me.

I sighed and made me way back into the kitchen, hoping to find Fang's mom but finding none other than Fang himself.

Fang was rummaging around in the fridge and had his back to me.

"You're around a bunch of kids, I'd watch the alcohol consumption tonight Mr. Boozy" I joked, making him jump in his spot.

He turned around, holding bottle of water in his hand.

"What was that Klutzilla?" he asked, holding hand up to his ear.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring his remark, his mom was still nowhere in sight, she was probably outside looking after the kids.

"Looking for someone?" Fang raised an eyebrow as he uncapped his water and took a sip.

"I just need your mom to unzip my dress" I mumbled, glancing out the window, looking for any trace of his mom.

I suddenly felt a presence behind me and almost jumped out of my skin, turning around to face Mr. Tall Dark and Arrogant himself.

"You're going to need to turn back around if you'd like your dress unzipped" he smirked.

I stayed rooted in my spot, something was telling me that he was going to get too much satisfaction out of this.

Fang rolled his eyes and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Jesus christ Max just turn around, it's not like you're getting naked. I promise I won't tell anyone I saw your back" he said sarcastically.

"Fine" I grumbled before turning around.

Fang gently moved my hair onto my shoulder and I briefly felt his fingers touch the skin of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"Everything okay?" he whispered, surprisingly with a lack of arrogance.

"Yup" I responded quietly.

I then heard Fang unzip my dress but I was frozen in place, I could feel his warm breath on my neck.

His long fingers delicately moved along the exposed skin of my spine, giving me goosebumps.

What the hell was going on here?

 _Move Max, move._

A voice in my head screamed at me, Fang was an arrogant, irritating asshole, and sure maybe he wasn't half bad in the looks department but that didn't mean I had to stand here and let him paralyze me like some star - struck teenager.

"I knew it! It didn't even take a week for you two to start undressing each other!" I heard Iggy's loud voice yell from the kitchen entryway.

Well shit.

* * *

 **A/N Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I was dealing with a little writers block but I've definitely got some new ideas planned out for this story. As always, I hope you enjoyed and please review!**

 **and to the person who asked, Iggy is not blind in this story :)**


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